1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to media players. More particularly, the present invention relates to user accounts and media associated with media player.
2. Background Art
People have come increasingly to utilize online user accounts, such as user accounts accessible through web pages, to manage information about the media that they purchase or license. For example, a person can utilize a user account to manage information about the music he listens to, the pictures he takes, or the movies he watches. In the past, media consumers might simply have rented or purchased, for example, a movie, watched it, and ended their experience then. In the modern trend, however, the media consumers can broaden their experience through the use of online services.
For example, today, a media consumer can utilize a user account to manage information about a movie in several ways. The media consumer may add a movie to a list of all the movies he or she rents or owns, thereby associating the movie with the user account. He or she may additionally rank the listed movies according to personal preferences, and associate comments with each movie. If the user account is maintained on a website with other user accounts, the person may also be able to see other persons' lists of movies, and rank and make comments about those movies. On such a website, multiple people may also be able to engage in forum-based discussions about movies, leave messages and provide advice to one another about movies, or communicate in other ways about movies or other forms of media. Ultimately, utilization of an online user account by a person can greatly broaden and enhance his movie-watching experience.
However, conventionally, a user must access a web site where the user account is maintained, manually log onto the user account, and enter various information about the new media content, such as a new DVD, that he has purchased, in order to associate the new DVD with the user account. The user must perform these tedious tasks for each single DVD that the user purchases, using, for example, a personal computer or a stand-alone media player. But, of course, many users forego taking the time to register yet another product or each instance of media content and, thus, the main advantages of the online user accounts and the associated benefits to the media consumers will not be realized by user account providers and consumers.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for easing the utilization of media user accounts by the media consumers.